Vintage Romance Novels (Photo credit: Stewf)

It seems that the media is catching up to something women have known for quite a while – romance novels are hot.

I don’t just mean popular but sexy too.

There’s a reason why it’s the single biggest selling fiction genre.

And while I’m not much of an erotic romance reader I will give a round of applause to self published erotic romance writers who are helping to spread the word to the mainstream media about this lovely escapist genre.

Read, enjoy, escape, then get back to the real world – it’s probably better than watching The Real Housewives of….

At any rate there’s a lot of news this week about publishers branching out into erotic romance and the romance genre in general. Enjoy catching up!

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She’s Canada’s empress of ­erotica, but Tina Haveman would feel no urge to give you a consensual whipping if you passed her without a glance.

Quietly operating from her home in the mountains north of Vancouver, Haveman has been one of the country’s leading publishers of e-book erotic romances since she launched eXtasy Books back in 2002.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/factor+Squamish+erotic+book+publisher+satisfies+readers+lust/6609507/story.html#ixzz1vEvhawBl

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For 10 weeks, the New York Times fiction best sellers list has been topped by a trilogy of books that some call “mommy porn.” One book, E.L. James’ “50 Shades of Grey,” has set the publishing world on fire; it’s arguably the biggest-selling erotic romance in decades.

But why are romance novels so hot?

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/05/15/good-question-why-are-romance-novels-so-hot/

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For years, it was a schedule as predictable as a calendar: novelists who specialized in mysteries, thrillers and romance would write one book a year, output that was considered not only sufficient, but productive.

There’s a revolution in reading filled with innovative and exciting possibilities underway, but whether the book industry will be able to sustain itself remains to be seen.

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Publishing+industry+thrown+loop+ebooks/6619184/story.html

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The e-reading phenomenon has led to a rise in the sales of erotic and romantic fiction that readers may previously have felt too inhibited to buy and read in public. Now, without the embarrassment of a dust-jacket, readers have begun to download such works in growing numbers.

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/books/digital-revolution-has-made-sex-the-hottest-genre-in-literature-16158267.html#ixzz1vEwTSntx

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Thanks to the popularity of eReaders such as Amazon’s Kindle, which mean there’s no tell-tale book cover, women can now download and read erotic fiction wherever they are without any fear of embarrassment.

Small wonder that the big publishers are now keen to cash in on the erotic genre. HarperCollins has launched Mischief, focusing on erotic ebooks, while romantic heavyweight Mills & Boon is publishing more risqué novels digitally than in print after a huge surge in online sales.

Here three erotic authors reveal all to SADIE NICHOLAS.

http://www.express.co.uk/features/view/320598/We-re-the-new-naughty-novelists%20?%3E

I’m starting my second round of 100 Days of Fiction today. It’s a big commitment and yet at the same time it really shouldn’t be.

If you’re a writer then you write, right?

So why is it sometimes so very damn (That strikeout and curse is an homage to Mark Twain.) difficult to make time to write?

You owe it to yourself to make your dreams top priority.

This is my second round of 100 days of writing and I managed it by getting up an hour earlier. I would wake up, spend ten minutes meditating, and then grab a cup of coffee – to wake up my brain. Then I’d sit down and write for an hour.

It was a very rewarding and productive experience.

You don’t have to get up at 5:30 to write, stay up late, take your lunch in your car at the park and bring a notebook. Find a way to be a writer.

Integrate writing into your daily structure to make sure there is room every day for you to pursue your dreams and goals.

“The secret of getting started is breaking 
your complex, overwhelming tasks into 
small manageable tasks, and then 
starting on the first one.”

- Mark Twain

Your heroine is surprised to learn her new stepfather has a son who is her age. When he walks in the door she…..

What happens next?

For example, is he someone she had a one night stand with? Is he someone she got into a car accident with? Her therapist? Or is he simply a beautiful man who makes her heart beat double time?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned.

Speaking of plans…

I’ve been working tirelessly on a new book titled 1001 Romance Story Starters.  Here’s a short description of the book:

The romance story starters in 1001 Romance Story Starters – Writing Prompts to Spark Your Imagination cover myriad genres, from erotic romance to inspirational and everything in between. You’ll find there are also different types of story starters including dialogue starters, scenes and even story endings.

The story starters are meant to help kick start your imagination.

You can change ANYTHING about the story starter. Take the idea and bend it to your will – you’re the boss.

Use the ideas to help you overcome writer’s block.

It doesn’t matter if you’re staring at a blank page or if you’re in the middle of a novel and unsure where to go with it – use the starters as inspiration. Let them help get your creative brain fired up.

Use the ideas to strengthen your writing muscles.

Your writing muscles are like any other muscle in your body. If you don’t use them regularly, they become weak. Don’t let your creative writing muscles atrophy! Even if you’re not working on a story idea, write. Grab a story idea and fill a page or two (or ten) or write for twenty minutes – you make the rules.

I’m So Excited To Put It In Your Hands!

It’s presently out of my hands and into the hands of the pros, you know those wonderful and often under-appreciated editors and formatting experts! Hopefully, it’ll be ready to purchase in about a month.

Until then…Happy Writing and enjoy your weekend!

Degelman Industries Ltd. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Regardless of your passion and pursuits, sometimes self doubt creeps in. You begin to think:

• Is this what I’m really meant to do?
• Maybe I’m not good enough.
• I can’t seem to get over this hurdle
• Maybe I should be doing something else.
• I’m going to fail, again.

These thoughts are destructive.

They’re like bulldozers in your brain.

Each one pushes and pushes gathering momentum until you give up in despair, anger, and frustration.

You have the power to make it stop.

A sidestep…

I spend about 6-8 hours every day writing for clients, blogging, and working on personal writing projects. I spend one hour a day at my local CrossFit gym. It’s a great way to get rid of my writer’s butt and get energized for the day.

It’s also teaching me many important things about mindset and pushing back the self doubt.

The co-owner of the gym is a remarkable woman. She’s intelligent and kind. She’s passionate about CrossFit and sharing her love for the sport and she’s a competitor.

She competed in the Southwest CrossFit Regionals this past weekend and placed 9th in the region. It is a tremendous accomplishment. One would have never known the demons she was fighting – this lady had some powerful bulldozers trying to destroy her mindset. She wrote a beautiful blog post about battling these negative thoughts. (The essay begins under the picture.)

It brought me to tears and as I read it, I couldn’t help but relate it to my writing path.

There have been many times when I have questioned if this was my path and purpose. Should I be writing? Am I good enough?

• These feelings creep in after a rejection.
• They creep in after I read a really good book.
• They creep in when I am struggling with a scene or character.
• And of course the creep in when I read news about how difficult it is to publish and sell books.

So What’s the Answer? How Do You Push Through Self Doubt?

Well, I find denial is my friend sometimes. I just set aside the self doubt and perhaps the reality of the situation and I focus on the goal in front of me – whatever that goal is. That usually works to get me past the small niggling doubts that enter my thoughts from time to time.

But sometimes the thoughts are larger and more destructive – like a huge industrial yellow bulldozer bearing down on me.

To combat this, I’ve found that it really does all boil down to one simple question – If you knew you’d never be successful, would you still write?

For me the answer is yes.

Even if I knew that I’d never sell a single book I’d still write. Would you?

If the answer is yes, if writing is your passion then it makes managing the self doubt much easier because ultimately it just doesn’t matter.

Now that doesn’t mean you don’t try. You keep trying and striving to achieve your writing goals. You be the best writer you can be. What it does do is take the pressure off. Like letting the air out of the bulldozer’s tires.

That’s what works for me…

Everyone has their own trigger or way to let the air out of the bulldozer’s tires It is about finding the right mental energy for success.

Maybe one of these approaches will help you push through self doubt:

#1 If you love what you do and you’re driven to succeed then you are doing what you are meant to do.

#2 Listen with half an ear to the negative thoughts and use what is relevant to help you improve and succeed.

#3 Use the rejection or negative thought as a personal challenge to show them what you are capable of.

#4 Gather support, positive feedback, thoughts and successes. Hold them to you like a precious keepsake and pull them out, metaphorically or literally, when you need them. For example, keep all of your positive feedback and successes in a scrapbook. When you’re feeling self doubt, look through the scrapbook to boost your confidence.

#5 Affirmations. Create a motivating statement that speaks to you and helps you regain your positive attitude.

Find your trigger and use it to push through the tough times because there will be tough times.

Nora Roberts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s no secret that Nora Roberts is a prolific author. After all, she’s written and published almost 200 books. So what’s her secret to success?

Quite literally, Nora attributes much of her success to her work ethic. Her motto, and our quote of the day.

“Ass in Chair”

If you’re writer or an aspiring author the one thing you can do to move towards your goal is to work towards it. If you’re a writer, write.

In the book I’ve included a chapter of dialogue story starters. When you start your book with dialogue, you begin with instant action and interaction.

Dialogue, in my opinion, is one of the most important elements of any story. With one good sentence you can provide characterization and move the story forward.

Elmore Leonard is perhaps the best dialogue crafter. He’s amazing. If you haven’t read any of his work, grab a collection of his short stories. When the Women Come Out to Dance is one of the more recent collections.

Today’s Romance Story Starter

“Why don’t you come a little closer?”

Who is saying this? Who are they speaking to? What do they want to happen next?

Affirmations are positive statements. They’re used to replace any negative thoughts or limiting beliefs and help you move forward toward your goals.

You can create an affirmation for anything. If you want to lose weight, save money, stop yelling at your teenager or finish your novel. The key is to create a statement that resonates with you. Often it’s easier to take a look at your negative head chatter and replace those negative thoughts with contrary statements.

For example, if you often find yourself thinking, “I’ll never get this book finished,” that’s clearly a limiting belief and negative.

A contrary statement, and a more positive one, might be “My book is progressing quickly. Every day I take another step toward completing it.”

And of course you can always borrow affirmations from others. You don’t have to create your own unless you wish to.

Here’s an affirmation to consider repeating when you sit down to write each day.

“The right words always come easily and effortlessly.”

Your hero wakes to a strange noise. It’s your heroine. What is she doing:

•     Standing on a ledge outside his apartment window ready to jump?
•     Breaking into his home?
•     Having noisy sex with his neighbor?
•     Drunk and in the wrong apartment?
•     Clumsy vampire/guardian angel?

Choose the idea that feels the most interesting or compelling to you and start writing!